James Arbuthnott
Aug 27, 2017 · 2 min read

Protesters walked from North Richmond station to Lennox St — Melbourne’s “heroin rectangle”- this morning, pushing for a safe injecting room in the area.

Senior journalist at Channel Nine, Laura Turner, spoke about her 36-year-old sister’s untimely death, as well as a mother on losing her son:

“A safe injecting room is not a place to party… It’s a place they can go to not die while dealing with their pain.”

“Today, in Victoria, there are hundreds of families like mine was, living with a loved one who has a heroin addiction and living with the terror that today might be the day that their loved one dies alone in a car park, public toilet or in a gutter. I would not wish that upon absolutely anyone.”

“It is not a harm minimisation strategy. It is a death minimisation strategy.”

“I guess I could say that right now I’m struggling with the finality of Skye’s death as well. I just can’t fathom the thought that I will never speak to my sister again. Never touch her, never smell her, and never have the honor of being on the receiving end of her sarcasm.” Turner said.

The Traders Association yelled “No injecting room in Victoria Street” as they waited at Lennox St. Also in favour of safe injecting rooms, the small group wants it built away from the main street.

Protesters gathered first at Richmond Station to watch an Aboriginal smoking ceremony in memory of indigenous lives lost.

Aboriginal smoking ceremony at North Richmond Station
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James Arbuthnott

Written by

Book Reviewer for ArtsHub and independent journalist from Melbourne, Australia. https://rwarbuthnott.wixsite.

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